Hospitals’ efforts to adopt and integrate electronic medical records (EMRs) into their clinical practices will surely accelerate now that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have set data standards and certification criteria for EMRs’ “meaningful use.” These initiatives, however, should not be about qualifying for incentive payments.
Hospital executives should view EMR systems as the backbone for integrated clinical communications necessary to reduce costs, eliminate inefficiencies and improve quality, patient safety and the coordination of care. They also should be aware of other fast ways to facilitate the sharing of information among physicians, nurses and other clinicians that do not require the “heavy lifting” of an EMR implementation. Such solutions will not only help hospitals begin to create a more integrated communications infrastructure, but also give them an early “win” in connectivity among their clinicians.
This white paper examines EMRs within this broader context. It focuses on a long-standing problem—the deficiencies in the “last mile” of the communications continuum when clinicians need to quickly connect with each other to determine the best course for patient treatment. According to a Cisco Systems report, the financial cost of communication inefficiencies to U.S. hospitals exceeds $10 billion annually.
This paper concludes by offering a simple, cost-effective strategy that hospitals can implement today to address this challenge. Since this solution will increase physicians’ satisfaction by eliminating “last mile” communication breakdowns, it can be hospitals’ first step toward gaining their cooperation and support for other EMR initiatives.